Means for draining liquid from well tubing



Jan. 12, 1932. P. H. @RANGER MEANS FOR DRAINING LIQUID FROM WELL TUBING Filed Aug. 2o', 195o 2 Sheets-Sheet INVENTOR. Idrz Jan. l2, 1932. P. HA GRANGER MEANS FOR DRAINING LIQUID FROM WELLTUBING Filed Aug. 20, 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A TTOR NE YS.

Patented Jan. 12, 1932 PATENT OFFICE PAUL H. GRANGER, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA MEANS FOR DRAINING LIQUID FROM WELL TUBING Application led August 20, 1930.

This invention .relates tov a well tubing blecder or means for drainingliquid from well tubing, and the main object of the inv. vention is to provide means whereby the liq- Yv uid contained in an oil string or well tubing through which the oil or other liquid is pumped can be drained back into the well whenever desired, for example, when the' bottom of the working barrel remains closed so that the oil is prevented from ruiming out. In such withdrawal of the oil string from the well, it is customary tov uncouple the tub# ing in stands of certain length and as each '25 stand is uncoupled from the string, the oil contained in such stand runs out from the stand. flowing and spattering over the operating platform and surrounding parts, causing great inconvenience and considerable danger to the operators on account of the slippery nature of the oil. Moreover the oil contained in the tubing is lost and can not be recovered and put into tanks.

My invention provides for bleeding or draining olf the oil or liquid fromV the oil string or well tubing before the same is elevated and removed from the well, thereby doing away with the difficulty above referred to. f l 4G In order to pull a wet string of tubing, the pulling equipment is subject to great strain due to added weight. This condition is vre-l moved by emptying the tubing before pull- In wells where perforated casing has not been set the present method of emptying the tubing has an hydraulic effect on the formation often causing it to cave or so disturb the sediment that same remains in suspension and therefore comes in direct communication Serial N'o. 476,614.

With the .pump causing excessive wear and necessitating ultimate renewal of working parts. My present invention also does away with these injurious results.

Another application of my invention is in connection with flushing out the well tubing when necessary. Sand often accumulates around the standing valve and holds the ball of same off its seat. My inventionr provides for temporarily opening the standing valve so as to permit oil to rush past the same and clear it of sand.

This device is also useful when a pump becomesgas bound, that is, the chamber' becomes filled with gas under pressure. At this time oil cannot enter the pump until the height of luid rises above the pump to a point where the weight is great enough to lift the standing valve ball. lt is frequent- -H ly the case that the well does not have a natural fluid level of sufficient height to lift the standing valve ball. It then becomes necessary to empty the working barrel, and my invention provides for such operation.

An important object of the invent-ion is to provide for release of the valve Opening means, so as to allow the valve to return to closed position under certain conditions as hereinafter explained.

The accompanying drawings illustrate em bodiments of my invention and referring thereto:

Fig. l is a vertical section of the tubing bleeder in normal position.

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing the device in operated position.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section of the catch means used to control the operation of the bleeder, the same being shown in position corresponding to that of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the parts in position corresponding to that ofrFig. 2.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the means n shown iny Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a section on line 6 6 in Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a section on line 7-7 in Fig. 4. 'Fig 8 isa section on line 8-8 in Fig. 4.

Fig. 9 is an elevation of the portion of the device shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10 is a vertical section showing a modiiication of the means for releasing the valve operating means. v

Fig. 11 is a partial section of a modified arrangement of the gas separating means.

The tubing bleeder constituting my inven tion is adapted and intended to be attached to the lower end of a'working barrel, such as indicated at 1 in Figs. 1 and 2, said working barrel having the usual standing valve 2 at its lower end controlling the 'entry of 'liquid thereinto. Attached to the lower end of the working barrel 1, for example, by meansV ofa collar 3, is a perforated section 4 oftubing, through which the oil or liquidl to be pumped passes from the .well bore to the standing valve`. A pipesection 5 is preferably mounted on the lower end of tubing section 4, and extends upwardly around the same, leaving a space 6 between members 4 and 5, communicating through openings 5 at the top of pipe section 5 (see Figs. 8 and 9) with the space around the'well tubing. The perforations 4 in tubing section'4 are preferably limited to the lower-portion of said section, so that the oil entering through openings 5 passes downwardly in space 6 before it reaches the inlet perforations 4. lThe member 5 acts as a gas traporso-called gas anchor as gases contained in the oil are separated therefrom as it passes downwardly in space 6, and the oil is delivered to the well tubing sufliciently free from gas to prevent interference with proper operation of thepumping means.

Means are provided for' lifting thestanding valve when it is desired to drain the well tubing. Y Said means comprises a stem 8 on a rod 8 said stem extending within tubing section 4 rand within the seatv of standing valve 2 so as to engage the ball or movable member of said valve, said rod 8 being connected by cross pin 9 to a collar 10 in which is secured a tube 11 exten-ding to, or nearly to the bottom of the well. Secured to tubing section 4 by a collar 12 is a length of tubing 13 which extends within the tubing 1l and is adapted to extend nearly to the bottom of the well when theworking barrel is in operating position, said tubing 18 having slots 14 through which the cross pinv9 extends. Means are mounted on said rod 8 and within the member 4 for clutching or connecting the said rod to said member 4under certain conditions as hereinafter setV forth. Sai-d clutchmeans for connecting the rod 8with the tube 4 may com'- prise a base member 15 mounted between members 4 Yand 12 and having an opening 16 through which the rod 8 may slide, said meinber 15 having secured thereon or formed, therewith, bearingmeans 18 extending upwardly on opposite sides of the rod 8 and formed respectively with horizontal slots 19 in which slide dogs'or clutch members 20, the inner ends of which are adapted to engage under certain conditions under shoulder 21 on the rod 8.

A movable clutch member 24 is mounted to slide on the rod 8 by means of opening 25 on said member 24, and has secured thereto and formed thereon'downwardly extending projections 27 provided with inclined faces 28 on the inside thereof adapted to engage the outer ends of the respective sliding dogs 20 to force the same inwardly, the said outer ends of said sliding dogs beingpreferably inclined or tapered in correspondence with the inclinationof the operating faces 28 so as to provide an effective bearing for engagement therewith. The movable clutch member 24 is normally held in elevated position relative to the clutch member 15 by means of springs 35 interposed between said clutch members, said springs surrounding and being supported by bolts 36 which are secured to the member 15 and Vpass through openings in the upper member 24. Nuts 3,7 on said bolts engage the upper clutch member 24 to limit the upward movement thereof.

I prefer to so construct the device that, if desired, the catch meansabove described can be returned to normal position so as tc allow the standing valve to be reseated. For this purpose springs 31 may be mounted yon the members 18 and engage the dogs `20 to force the same outwardly and the operating rod 8 may be provided with inclined or flaring portion 17 beneath the shoulder` 21 adapted to engage the inner ends of the dogs 2O on upward movement of the member 8 so as to force said dogs outwardly. Passages 32 are preferably provided in the member 15, said passages being for example adjacent the operating rod 8 and being normally closed by flaps 88 carried by leaf springs 33 mounted on member 15, these iiaps tending to open on down-rush of oil so as to clear any sand which may lodge'on top of the clutch means, but being normally closed to prevent escape of gas into the oil contained in tube 4.

The perforations indicated at 4 in the tube section 4 are preferablyconned to the lower portion of said tubing section solthat an unperforated portion thereof is provided within theV gas trap tube 5 throughout a sutlicient height to. insure release of gas from oil before it enters said perforations. Said Vperforations are also preferably at a level adjacent the level of the clutch member 24. The movable catch member above described is operated downwardly under certain conditions by the force of liquid descending through the standing valve and the tubing section 4 and issuing through the perfora-V tions 4, and in order to insure effective operation the tubing section 4 is preferably provided with a contracted portion 30 above and adjacent the perforations 4 and the clutch member 24so as to contract the stream of flow and cause it to impinge with suliiciently high velocity on the clutch member 24 to operate the same. f

The operation of the device is as follows: The oil string and working barrel are lowered into the well with the parts above described .attached thereto, and when the bottom of the tube 1l reaches the bottom ot the well ity arrests the further down movement of said tube and of rod 8 connected thereto, and further lowering of the oil string and working barrel will cause the standing valve 2 to be opened by relative upward movement ot said rod. 1 It will, therefore, be understood that the oil string and the parts supported thereby will normally be raised somewhat so that therod 8 and the parts connected thereto are allowed to descend under the action of gravity and the parts are allowed to assume the'position shown in Figs. l and 3, the standing valve being therefore normally permitted to close. The oil string can be raised or lowered as often as desired without operating` the clutch means .above described, provided that the level of the liquid within the well outside the oil string, this beingI the normal condition before the pump is set in operation. When the working barrel has been put into operation and the oil string or string of tubing has been'lilled with oil or liquid in the normal pumping operation and it is desired to remove the oil string or string of tubing from the well, the said string is first lowered so as to bring the means 11 in contact with the bottom of the well and in the ensuing downward movement of the string of tubing to cause the parts to move to the position shown in Figs. 2 .and 4.

In moving to such elevated position relative to the well tubing, the tube 11 operates through pin 9, rod 8 and stem 8 to raise the movable member or ball of the standing valve as shown in Fig. 2, vthereby opening the standing valve and allowing the liquid in the oil string or string of tubing to flow down rapidly past the standing valve and out through the perforated section 4. This rapid downward flow of the liquid and the defiection thereof outwardly from the tul ing causes downward pressure on the operating member 4 of the clutch means, causing said clutch member to move downwardly against the resistance of the springs 35 and bringing the inclined faces 28 in engagement with the outer ends of the dogs or catch means 20 so as to force the latter inwardly to the position shown in Fig. il, so that their inner ends engage under the shoulders 2l on the rod 8, and hold said rod in position to retain the standing valve in open position and permit free drainage of liquid from the tubing therethrough. The

oil string may then be withdrawn from the well, being elevated and uncoupled a stand at a time, without any eiiiux of oil or liquid from the respective stands as they'are being uncoupled or removed.

Then the device is used only for emptying the well tubing preparatory to, or during, removal of the tubing from the well, the clutch means may be released manually, after the working barrel has been withdrawn from the well and the device opened up. I may, however, provide means for automatically releasing the catch means upon cessation of dc-wntlow of liquid Jfrom the well tubing. Such means may comprise the springs 3l, which tend to press the dogs or catches 2O outwardly so that when the downward press' re on the member 2e ceases by reason of the cessation of oil-flow, due to emptying of the well tubing either wholly, or suiiiciently to equalize the levels within and without the tubing, the dogs 2O will move outward and release the rod 8, which then falls to normal position.

In case oil is to be drawn from the tubing, for flushing out sand from the standvalve, it is only necessary to lower the ubing aforesaid to cause engagement of 'the member 13 with the bottom oi' the well and thereby open the standing valve by operation or" rod 8. I@fil will then flow from the well tubing until equality of level is established inside and outside of the tubing, whereupon the rod is released and returned to normal position, closing the standing valve, as above explained. To ensure this releasing operation under these conditions, l prefer to provide the inclined portion 17 on rod 8 which can be made to operate the dogs 2O (by pressing on springs 3l, or by direct engagement) to force the same outward, by lowering the well tubing somew iat farther than the position shown in Figs. 2 and 4, causing said inclined portion to move upwardly from the position of Fig. 4 and to push dogs 20 out of engagement with shoulders 91. This operation will, of course, only talre place after the clutch faces 28have been moved upward on completion of the flushing operation.

li? it is desired to empty the working barrel to remove gas tl erefrom, the well tubing is first lowered to open the standing valve as above described and is then raised sufficiently to release all the oil and gas from the working barrel. The catch rod 8 is then released by operation of inclined portion 17, the tubing being lowered, for that purpose, suliiciently to effect such operation by engagement of member il with the bottom of the well, and beinfT then raised to allow the parts to resume normal position.

The springs 3l facilitate the operation of the Caton releasing means, but they may be omitted if desired, shown in Fig.' l0, the inclined or Haring portion l engaging directly with the catch dogs indicated at 20.

As shown in Fig. ll, the gas trap means j lease the standing' valve.

- may be mounted on the member,` indicated Aat y The construction and operation is otherwise tl e same as in the form shown in F ig. l.

In this'case the gas trap sleeve or tube is movably mounted on the perforated section,

Vinstead `of being liXedly' mounted thereon,

but the effect is the same as regards its function in separating gas.

I claim:

l. A drainingvmeans for well tubing coinprising a perforated tubular means adapted for attachment to the working barrel at the lower end of such well tubing, a valve operating member provided with a shoulder vertically movable in said tubular means and adapted to engage and lift the movable member of the standing valve of the working barrelso as to open sa-id valve, a guide means connected to and extending downwardly from said perforated tubular means, a tube surrounding said guide means and connected to saidvalve operating member and adapted toibo arrested by its engagement at the bot- 4 tom ofthe well, to lift the valve operating member so as to open the standing valve, a clutch member mounted within saidl tubular member and provided with dogs adapted to engage the aforesaid shoulder on said valve operating member, and a clutch operating member mounted to slide vertically within said tubular member and adapted to operate said dogs to move same into engagement to said shoulders, said clutch operating means being adapted .to be operated by the downiiow of liquid past the standing'valve when Y said standing valve is open, such ydownflow -of liquid being due to difference in level of the liquid within and loutside of the tubing.

2. Means for opening the standing valve of a well pump working barrel, comprising supporting means mounted on the working barrel, valve operating means mounted to move vertically on said supportingmeans, means connected to said valve operating means and adapted to engage the bottom of the vvwell and on such engagementto move the valve operating means to open the standing valve catch means for holding the valve operating means in position to open the standing valve, means responsive to outflow of liquid from the standing valve tooperate said catch means, and means for releasing the catch means from the valve operating means on' cessation of outflow of liquid from the standing valve.

3. .Means for opening the standing valve of alwell pump working barrel comprisingl supporting means mounted on the working barrel, valve operating means mounted to move vertical-ly on said supporting means, and provided vwith a shoulder, means connected tosaid valve operating means and adapted to engage the bottom ofthe well, and on such engagement to move thefvalve operating means so as to open the standing valve, catch means adapted to engage said shoulder on the valve operating means to hold the valve operating means in position to hold the standing valve open, means responsive to outiiowof liquid from the standing valve to operate the catch'mea-ns vto position to hold the standing valve open, and incline meanson the valve operating means adapted Y yto engage said catch means to release it from said shoulder on,v the valve operating means.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 30 day of July, 1930.

PAUL H.y GRANGER. 

